Blog
Mainline, Jab or Snort: This Drug Can Save Your Life
Mid November 2014, I received a Maryland State Health Alert from our Secretary of Health & Mental Hygiene, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD titled, Prescribe Naloxone and Save Lives: An Alert for Maryland Clinicians. The body of the text stated the following: [quote...
Scents of the Season
Every major holiday, my second cousin opens his home to family. I, along with my brother, started joining them a few years ago following the death of my father. This new ritual became a way for me to renew my relationship with my mother’s side of the family (she has...
In Search of Someone Like Me: Finding Online Pain Support
Many years ago I went moseying around the internet to search out others who lived with daily pain. I wanted a support system to help me – I was looking for a support group. There were no local ones in my area or even the surrounding area. I wanted to meet others who...
Volunteering in Pain
One of my biggest coping techniques for living with chronic pain is distraction. I like to stay so busy that I don't have time to notice how badly I feel. Volunteering accomplishes this task and so much more. Volunteering takes us out of ourselves, out of the house,...
The Pain Community’s 12 Pains of Christmas
Written by members of the TPC Chat room and the Friends in Pain Facebook group in 2014, this is a parody of the “12 Days of Christmas”. These contributors bring wonderment and joy to each other and are a testament to all people living with pain. On the 1st day of...
“Oh, I Can’t Believe I Ate the Whole Thing”
Feeling Your Best During Holiday Feasting Warning! The Winter Holiday Season is Upon Us: Thanksgiving, Epiphany (Three Kings Day), Koliada, Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Jól (Jule Eve), Christmas, Boxing Day, Junkanoo, New Year’s, Handsel Monday, Malanka, to...
Yummy Winter Gift Giving
The winter holidays are coming and I am one of those people who love them (as well as the other holidays). While I can’t do a lot of things I used to do, I do make a few of my gifts. These Bavarian Mints are something I have made for over 35 years. I used to make...
Positively Upbeat and in Pain: Say What?!?
Here is what I am thinking. When living with pain how do we live in the day? How can we find the strength to face each day with a smile? How do we make sure we are moving forward each day? These are all questions that I and others have at one point or another. So ask...
Bringing Holiday Comfort & Joy to Your Taste Buds
I love the holidays and they are approaching fast. Like me, you can cook with minimal increase in your pain and stress. All it takes is planning and discarding some common assumptions. For example, just because something may be a family tradition doesn’t mean you...
Dancing the Pace Step: Pace…Two…Three…Four
A few weeks back, I was asked to moderate a phone support group for a kindred consumer pain organization. The topic was pacing. As I finished the introduction of the how’s and why’s, I listened carefully to the participants, all who live with pain and many who have...